Parishes adjacent to Flaxley

Historical Descriptions

The grounds of Flaxley Abbey by Jennifer Luther Thomas and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales 1870

Flaxley, a parish in Westbury-on-Severn district, Gloucester; near the river Severn, the South Wales railway, and the Gloucester and Hereford Junction railway, 2¼ miles N of Newnham. Post town, Newnham. Acres, 1, 375. Real property, £2, 252. Pop., 272. Houses, 51. The property is divided among a few. A Cistercian abbey was founded here, in the time of Stephen, by Roger Fitz-Milo, second Earl of Hereford; was endowed by Henry II. with an iron forge in Dean forest, and with several neighbouring manors; and was given, at the dissolution, to the Kingstons. Flaxley Abbey, now the seat of Sir M. H.Boevey, Bart., was rebuilt in 1777, and retains some vestiges of the monastic edifice. Iron-works are still carried on at Abbott’s Wood, the place of the forge given by Henry II.; and the iron produced at them, in consequence of being worked solely with charcoal, is held in much esteem. The scenery in Flaxley and its neighbourhood is picturesque. The living is donative in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value, £108. Patron, Sir H. H.Boevey, Bart. The church is recent, and in the decorated English style; and has a tower and spire. Charities, £50.

Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850

Flaxley (St. Catherine), a parish, in the union of Westbury, hundred of St. Briavell’s, W. division of the county of Gloucester, 3 miles (N. by E.) from Newnham; containing 229 inhabitants. The parish contains establishments for smelting Iron-ore, and works which produce weekly 20 tons of pig iron, of excellent quality. The living is a donative; net income, £104; patron, Sir T. C. Boevey, Bart. The church was rebuilt in 1730. A school is supported by a lady. In the reign of Stephen an abbey for Cistercian monks, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, was built here by Robert Fitz-Milo, second earl of Hereford, the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, amounted to £112. 13. 1.: the chief part was burnt down in 1777, but it has since been restored.

Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland 1833

Flaxley, co. Gloucester.

P. T. Newnham (120) 2 m. N. Pop. 196.

A parish in the hundred of St. Briavells; living, a curacy in the archdeaconry of Hereford and diocese of Gloucester; certified value 8l.; patron (1829) Sir T. Crawley. Here was formerly an abbey of Cistercian monks, founded in the reign of King Stephen, by Roger Fitz-Milo, second Earl of Hereford, on the spot where his brother had been accidentally killed by an arrow whilst hunting.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland by John Gorton. The Irish and Welsh articles by G. N. Wright; Vol. II; London; Chapman and Hall, 186, Strand; 1833.

Administration

County: Gloucestershire

Civil Registration District: Westbury on Severn

Probate Court: Pre-1541 - Court of the Bishop of Hereford, Post-1541 - Court of the Bishop of Gloucester (Episcopal Consistory)